Senior government officials are in a bind – not because they have no assignments but because they have been transferred several times in just one month by Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso.
One of them is the former chief secretary of Punjab, Nasir Khosa, who is now the federal secretary of the textile ministry.
He had worked with the previous government of Punjab and served as chief secretary of the province for over four years.
Soon after the exit of the Shahbaz Sharif’s government, he was removed from the post and appointed chief secretary of Sindh on April 4.
However, within two days the notification of Khosa’s new assignment was withdrawn and he was asked to join the Ministry of Finance as its secretary.
On April 16, he was transferred from the Finance Department to the Ministry of Textile.
“This is a disgrace to an official whose performance has remained transparent and who has not been involved in any controversy throughout his career,” a source close to Khosa revealed.
Federal secretary Shahid Rashid has faced a similar ordeal.
He was appointed as secretary of the Ministry of Information Technology by the prime minister on April 3 but after 20 days was transferred to the Ministry of Industries.
Similarly, the caretaker government appointed retired Captain Javed Iqbal as secretary of the Interior Ministry on April 21 but removed him from the post in three weeks, according to an official of the establishment division.
He was later appointed managing director of a government-run insurance company.
The secretary of the Ministry of Regulations and Services Division Imtiaz Inayat Elahi was transferred on May 4 without the consent of the minister of his department, according to an official of the prime minister’s secretariat.
Giving reasons for the transfer, the official said, “Elahi was working on a drug regulatory policy framework. Besides, he gave a statement to the National Accountability Bureau about management of medicines’ registration and pricing during the PPP regime.”
He said Elahi had been posted on a redundant position as chairman of the National Commission for Government Reforms.
Shafqat Jalil, spokesman for the caretaker prime minister, said Khosa had himself refused to work as chief secretary and wanted to be posted in Islamabad.
Khosa was removed from the post of the finance secretary because the adviser for finance wanted Dr Waqar Masood to take the charge, he said.
Defending Rashid’s transfer, he said, “It was earlier decided that after retirement of secretary of industries Zafar Iqbal, the senior most official will replace him.”
However, the spokesman refused to comment on the transfer of Captain Iqbal and Elahi. “The matter is pending with the Supreme Court,” he said about the latter case.